Education Levels of My Great-Grandparents

I wanted to look into the education levels of family members. The 1940 census has a column that describes a person's highest level of education. In this post, I will describe the highest level of education for each of my great-grandparents that were enumerated in the 1940 census.

Since my paternal grandfather's parents were Mexican, they were not in the 1940 U.S. Federal Census. My paternal grandmother's parents were Rebert Odell Hitchcock and Joy Decimund Stephens. Rebert's highest completed grade was ninth grade; Joy's highest grade was 11th.

Clipping from 1940 Census

My maternal grandfather's parents were Jesse Lee Findley and Rosemary Christine Reaber. Jesse's highest completed grade was eighth grade. (The 1945 Florida State Census listed his highest grade as "grammar school.") Rosemary was the only of my great-grandparents to graduate high school.

Clipping from 1940 Census

My maternal grandmother's parents were Gerald Dean Richerson and Jessie Roberta Ellis. I haven't found Gerald in the 1940 census yet. He is out of his parents' house by 1940, and he isn't married yet, so I don't know where he is. Jessie is still living at home with most of her siblings. Her highest level of education is listed as eighth grade.

Clipping from 1940 Census

So, after analyzing the education levels of my great-grandparents, I realize about half of them followed the "normal" pattern. Eighth grade was a fairly common end point for a child's education. Not only was additional education not viewed as necessary, but by the time the child was out of or in eighth grade, they were expected to be contributing to the household.

I was interested to see, however, that so many of my great-grandparents continued on into at least part of high school. I think that speaks to my love of knowledge and education myself.

I hope to find out more information about my Mexican great-grandparents in hopes of seeing where they fall in the education spectrum, but that will definitely take a little more digging. In the meantime, I think I'll settle with continuing to look for Gerald in the 1940 census.

Sources:

• 1940 Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1940 DeLand, Volusia, Florida U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1940 Fulton, Callaway, Missouri U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1945 Jacksonville, Duval, Florida State Census (accessed on Ancestry)

Wilhelm Luebbert

Wilhelm Luebbert was born about 1835 in Germany to Salvador Luebbert and Elena Fhurker. My third great-grandfather is someone about whom I know very little. All of the information I have on him comes from my brother, whom I leave to do most of the research on the Mexican side of our family. (He knows significantly more Spanish than I do.) Here is what I do know.

Wilhelm was a miner and mine owner in Mexico, as was his father before him. I am unsure if Wilhelm inherited his father's mine or if he found his own. This is what my brother told me: 

"Wilhelm Luebbert, our tatarabuelos's padre (great great great grandfather), was not only a miner but he owned mines. One of the mines may have been one of Mexico's biggest or most important mines. It was a silver mine."

Since I know so little about Wilhelm and his personal life, I thought this post would be about silver mining in Mexico.

From what I can tell, Mexico is has been a large supplier of silver for quite a while. The First Majestic Silver Corp states, "From the late sixteenth century until the 1870's, silver was Mexico's chief export, amounting to more than 70 percent of the total exports." This includes most of the time I imagine Wilhelm would have been mining.

The laws and codes of mining changed every few decades, it seems, in Mexico. In 1821, during the time of the War of Independence, the law stated that the property of all the minerals belonged to the Nation. By 1857, it was up to each state to determine the governing rules related to mining. These state-specific rules often did not transfer over to other states, and this was discouraging to miners. The Mining Code of 1884 created a unified stance on mining and alleviated some of the cross-state tensions that the previous laws allowed. They even instituted tax-exempt guidelines regarding supplies and imported materials and created a maximum tax ceiling that the states could not raise or exceed.

Then, in 1892, the Mexican mining law was changed again. This time, it granted mineral rights to the mine (or land) owners. Minerals produced in the mines were viewed as "income" and were the sole property of the mine owner. They would then be taxed appropriately. The annual tax of silver was $10 per hectare. If the amount of silver does not reach 250g per metric ton if between 50 and 100 hectares are owned, then the tax was $5 per hectare or $2.50 if more than 100 hectares are owned.

The new laws enacted in 1884 and 1892 created a mining boom in Mexico. I like to think this is probably the time Wilhelm was was involved.

Clipping from "Data Referring to Mexican Mining"

Clipping from "Data Referring to Mexican Mining"
It notes that the legal value of a Kilogram of pure silver was $40,915 (in Mexican Dollars).

I know mining isn't a glamorous job, despite how it may seem in Disney movies...

Image from the Disney Movie "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"

I know it was a quite dangerous job at times. Narrow shafts, the use of explosions, and all other types of job hazards existed in the mine, but it seems Wilhelm and his father survived the occupation okay. I'm not sure when Wilhelm died, but I know it was supposed to have been at least before 1917.

Wilhelm married Maria Magdalena Diaz Bojorquez in about 1862 in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico. Together, they had at least five children. They are:

• Enrique Luebbert Diaz, born 1862
• Carlos Luebbert Diaz, born 1865
• Maria Luebbert Diaz, born 1870
• Guillermo Luebbert Diaz, born 1875
• Emilio Roberto Luebbert Diaz, born 1878

Sources:

• The First Majestic Silver Corp: Mining History of Mexico
• Sellerier, Carlos "Data Referring to Mexican Mining" (accessed via Google Books)
• The research efforts of Thomas Cardenas, relation: third great-grandson

Rafael Cardenas Zepeda

Rafael Cardenas Zepeda was born 24 October 1890 in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico. His parents were Macedonio Cardenas y Cardenas and Agustina Zepeda Rodriguez.

He married at least three times. His known wives were Amalia Ortega Blanca, Herlinda (last name unknown), and Adelina Cardenas. Between all of his spouses, Rafael had at least the following children:

• Gilberto Cardenas Ortega
• Esperanza Cardenas Ortega
• Raul Cardenas
• Roberto Cardenas
• Rafael Cardenas

For this post, however, rather than focusing on his family life, I want to highlight Rafael's military service. Unlike my previously mentioned military relatives who served in the American Revolutionary War or the U. S. Civil War, Rafael, being Mexican, served in the Mexican Revolutionary War, sometimes referred to as the Mexican Civil War.

Rafael joined the Constitutionalist Army during the Mexican Revolutionary movement in 1913. He served under the command of General Antonio Medina. I know he was against the Huerta movement, but it seems from what I've gathered that even when some groups would be allies on one front, they were enemies on another, so other than knowing he was "anti-Huerta," I know little else about his side of the War.

Most of the reason I don't know much about his time in the Revolution is because my knowledge of Spanish is limited to what I learned before age 10 and what I can glean based on a working knowledge of French and some Latin. But I do know that during Rafael's time in the military, he worked his way up to Brigadier General.

One of the many medals that was given to Rafael.
They are all in the possession of his granddaughter, Amalia Cardenas TristanPhoto taken by Thomas Cardenas

Certificate in the possession of Amalia Cardenas Tristan
Photo taken by Thomas Cardenas

By 1918, he was the first head of the Department of Factories and Military Supplies under Venustiano Carranza de la Garza's presidency. (This leads me to believe Rafael and Venustiano Carranza were allies (more frequently than enemies, at least) in the War.)

While Rafael appears in few books and records, it seems he was rather successful in his professional life. He was a member of Congress, a federal deputy, and he also served as provisional governor of Tamaulipas. He was the governor-elect for the 1920-1924 term, but he only served four days until 8 May 1920 when he retired.

Photo of Rafael found in a book at Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA
(I forgot to write down the name of the book)

Rafael died in 1956 at the age of 66 of a myocardial infarction.

Taken from death certificate

I hope to find out more about the Mexican Revolution as soon as I learn a little more Spanish, but until then, I have to rely on the certificates, medals, and fantastic photos from my great-aunt Amalia. Hopefully, more information will be revealed to me soon.

Photo provided by Thomas Cardenas
Original in the possession of Amalia Cardenas Tristan

Sources:

• Condecoracion al Merito Revolutionario, Rafael Cardenas Cepeda
• Death Certificate, Rafael Cardenas Zepeda (provided by Thomas Cardenas)
• "Diccionario Porrua: Historia, Biografia y Geografia de Mexico" (found in a local high school library)
• Tamaulipas Bicentennial Site: Rafael Cardenas Cepeda
• Tamaulipas Bicentennial Site: Venustiano Carranza

Gilberto Cardenas Luebbert

I know very little about my ancestors from Mexico. In this post, we will begin to explore what little bit I do know about them.

I'll start with my grandfather, my most recent connection to Mexico. Gilberto Cardenas Luebbert was born on 8 August 1937 in Mexico. He was the second of four children born to Gilberto Cardenas Ortega and Enriqueta Frida Luebbert Schulz.

Enriqueta was Gilberto Cardenas Ortega's second spouse. His first spouse was a Texan. Her name was Virginia Placida Johnston. Gilberto also married a third time to a woman named Amalia Tristan Vera.

Enriqueta was also married a total of three times. Her other spouses names were Carlos Zolezzi Cavazos and Antenor Buenrostro. I do not know when she was married to either of these men as it does not seem they had any children together.

Through all of his parents' secondary marriages, Gilberto Cardenas Luebbert had four half-siblings. Their names were:

• Theresa Antoneta Cardenas
• Daniel Lawrence Cardenas
• Amalia Cardenas Tristan
• Gilberto Demetri Cardenas Tristan

Perhaps his parents' troubles in staying with one spouse influenced Gilberto in his own relationships as he was married six times in his life.

As far as I know, his first marriage was to my grandmother. In his late twenties, Gilberto Cardenas Luebbert married Barbara Rowena Hitchcock.

Enriqueta Luebbert Schulz, Gilberto Cardenas Luebbert, and Barbara Rowena Hitchcock
at Gilberto and Barbara's wedding reception. Provided by Thomas Cardenas.

Together, they had three children.

• Gil Enrique Cardenas
• Jorge Cardenas
• Krystal Rowena Cardenas

Since I do not know when he married which spouse, I will simply list the remainder of his relationships in no particular order.

Gilberto married Soledad Medina. Together, they had at least one child.

• Enriqueta Cardenas Medina

Gilberto married Hortensia Aguilera. Together, they had at least one child.

• Gabriela Cardenas

Gilberto also married Violeta (last name unknown) and Guadalupe (last name unknown).  He later remarried Hortensia, who remained his wife until he died.

I do not have any photos of Gilberto's other spouses, and I have only seen one or two photos of my dad's Mexican half-siblings. (My dad also has two other half-siblings from my grandmother's second marriage.) I wish I knew more than just some colors and numbers in Spanish so I would feel more comfortable contacting my relatives South of the Border. Until I learn the language though, I leave my brother to do most of the Mexican research.

I only met my grandfather once. We spent a couple of days together in 2010 while on a road trip from North Carolina to Pennsylvania with my aunt (his daughter) and her family. We spent most of those days sharing our love of World Cup Soccer watching it on television in the hotels where we stayed. We did send a few emails back and forth, but I wish I had asked him more about his life and relationships. That aspect of his life and his reasons for marrying/divorcing so many times is probably something I'll never be able to figure out or understand.

Gilberto died the year after I met him on 11 October 2011. He is buried at Jardines del Recuerdo. My brother managed to get this photo from one of Gilberto's brothers, Raul Cardenas Luebbert, last year for me since I needed proof of my grandfather's birth and death dates for my Daughters of the American Revolution application.

Photo of grave of Enriqueta Luebbert Schulz, Gilberto Cardenas Luebbert,
and (currently) three other people. Copyright, 2014

Sources:

• Brittany Jenkins, grandchild
• Gilberto Cardenas Luebbert, self
• Thomas Cardenas, grandchild
• Tombstone photo taken Spring 2014